Ponte Vedra Beaches

South of Jacksonville Beach along A1A is Ponte Vedra. As home of  the Sawgrass Country Club and the Player’s Championship, Ponte Vedra has one of the most prominent resort addresses in North Florida – but the city had humble beginnings.

In the early 1900’s, Ponte Vedra Beach was nothing more than a pristine wilderness of sand dunes, swamps, alligators and palmetto trees.
But in 1912, a vein rich in minerals was discovered running through the dunes. These minerals; rutile, limonite and zirconium, were found to be of tremendous value in the processing of steel, and the site soon evolved into a frontier mining town with worker’s quarters, a post office and general store.

A successful mining corporation, The National Lead Company, purchased the rugged outpost as well as several thousand acres of the mineral rich property and, in support of the United States’ war effort during World War I, mined the area for the valuable ore. Mining operations ceased shortly after the war ended and the company began to sell off their large real estate holdings in the area.

The transformation from former mining town to nationally recognized seaside community began in the early 1920’s when local land planners skillfully developed the area to maximize its natural beauty.

The resort life at Ponte Vedra Beach dates back to 1928, with the introduction of the Ponte Vedra Inn & Country Club and the celebrated opening of the newest playground for the wealthy.

From the boardrooms of Wall Street to the social registers of America, word spread quickly of the charming seaside retreat on Florida’s northeast shore. This quaint, seaside retreat attracted the upper classes from all over the east and Midwest United States. They came for the sun, sand, and surf. They

came for the sports. They came to socialize. The finest families came to meet the finest families.

And this splendid heritage continues today.